Review for The Maze Runner by James Dashner!
Quick View Review:
Characters: **** (4.5/5)
Plot: **** (4.5/5)
Writing Quality: ***** (5/5)
Amazon Rating: **** (4.5/5)
Full Review:
When Thomas wakes up in a dark box, the only thing he can remember is his name. Not his past, not his family, not any events that took place in his life. He finds himself surrounded by strangers, all boys with the same strange memory loss. They welcome him to their home: the Glade.
The boys have created a working farm and a structured life for themselves in the Glade, but outside the massive stone walls that surround Thomas’s new home is an endless, ever-changing maze. It seems to be the only way out, but after two years, the Gladers haven’t found a solution, and those who have tried to leave have never come back alive.
Then a girl arrives. The first one in the two years the Gladers have been living in the Maze, and the first “Newbie” to arrive just a day later than the last one. They now become suspicious of Thomas and think that he has something to do with the mysterious events. The Gladers know that something’s up, and when they discover the message the girl carries, they are terrified.
Reach for memories, try to stay alive, and never stop running.
The Maze Runner series was exciting, suspenseful, and action-packed. James Dashner’s writing was incredibly descriptive and we could perfectly picture the Glade, the characters, and each event that took place. Dashner also kept the story suspenseful, and we were just racing to reach the last page of each book (in other words, page turner alert!!!).
Along with the amazing writing, the story was extremely creative and created the perfect atmosphere for James Dashner’s action-packed and suspenseful writing. We loved how the complex plot and society created by Dashner seemed completely fictional and yet were just realistic enough to scare us the smallest bit. The only thing we thought could have made the story better was if, like in the Kill Order, small bits of Thomas’s memories were shown to us in alternating chapters so that we would know a little more about our protagonist’s past and if he had changed at all with the memory swipe.
We thought that the majority of the characters had realistic personalities that were relatable. Our favorite characters were Newt and Minho, who both were courageous, cautious, and had great senses of humor. The only character we thought was kinda unrealistic sometimes was Thomas. His bravery and willing to always sacrifice himself and put himself in incredibly dangerous situations was probably not what most people would feel in similar situations. Of course, he is the main character and protagonist, so we understand why he would have the boosted courage and fearlessness, but we thought that maybe if Thomas had shown a little more fear and put a little more thought into his decisions but still put himself into dangerous situations, he would have seemed more relatable and realistic. Of course, if James Dashner’s goal was to make a character who had a personality readers would admire and envy (which can definitely be a good thing), then he did a great job!
Overall, despite some possible improvements, the Maze Runner novels were a series of page-turner, action-packed, and suspenseful books that had great writing, a creative plot, and realistic relatable characters. Definitely a book we recommend for boys, but if you girls out there are in the mood for a book packed with physical fighting and plot twists, then this is the book for you!
Happy reading!
XOXO,
Jordan
